


Cat Nap? Cat Nightmare!

by dandilioncutie



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: OC insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-10-27 06:33:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dandilioncutie/pseuds/dandilioncutie
Summary: 17 year old Deliylah Hayes had a mysterious past, and everybody in Lior knew it. But when the Fullmetal Alchemist comes to town, everything is flipped upside down. When her place in the town is uprooted, Deliylah begins following Edward and helping him in his quest for knowledge, truth, and their bodies. Perhaps her past isn't as mysterious as she meant it to be after all...





	1. Crossed Strings

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this several years ago and posted it to Fanfic.net, so the writing improves as it goes along. Bare with me in the beginning! Updates weekly!

Like any other day in the midst of Lior, Deliylah Hayes could hear people complaining about the heat sweeping through the town. Not that this day was a day like any other day, but at first it sure did feel like one to the young girl.

  
“It’s too hot here! Who’s idea was it to build a town so far South anyway,” some tourist yelled to his friend. Deliylah chuckled. Having spent her whole life in the Southern region of Amestris meant that she was used to the heat. The places she had lived didn’t exactly have a great way of cooling down.

  
An empty bucket swung at her side. Despite not being a Letoist, she found a few extra cents find their way into her pocket if she offered to clean their altar every once in a while.

  
Father Cornello’s daily sermon could be heard ahead as she approached a shop known for its nice meals. Nothing fancy, but if you didn’t see very much money in your wallet then the curbside restaurant was the place to go. The man who ran the place was one of the very few people who knew just where Deliylah came from.

  
“So, what are you guys, street performers or something,” the man asked a young blonde boy in a red coat. Deliylah silently wondered what such a small kid was doing with such a large man dressed in armor, but she decided that it really wasn’t her business to pry into other peoples lives like that.

  
The kid choked on his drink. “Seriously? Do we look like street performers to you?”

  
“Yeah, that’s why I asked. Hey Deliylah, need some soap for Leto’s altar?” The shopkeeper had turned to her, the bottle already in his hand.

  
“Yes, please,” she answered. “And if it isn’t too much trouble, a cup of tea would be nice~”

  
A second later a cup and the bottle of soap were in front of her. “Sure thing, ki- Hey! Could you _please_ be more careful, sir?” Deliylah flinched when the radio which had previously been spouting ‘Leto’s word’ came to the ground with a painfully loud crash, shattering to pieces. “Frankly, you shouldn’t walk around wearing that suit…”

  
‘Looks like somebody is about to pay for a radio,’ she thought to herself, sipping at her tea. Radios weren’t cheap.

  
Her cup hovered between her lips and the counter as the unknown boy spoke next. “Our bad, don’t worry, we’ll fix it right away.”

  
“You think you can fix it?”

  
“Just sit back and watch.”

  
Deliylah knew of very few ways a radio could be fixed, and she didn’t like the biggest possibility. Sure enough, the large suit of armor took out a piece of simple white chalk and drew a very familiar and unwelcome circle around the broken pieces of what used to be a radio. A moment and a flash of light later the radio was back in one piece, and from it Father Cornello’s voice could be heard. Deliylah took a deep breath and placed her teacup back at her lips. One simple act of alchemy was nothing-

  
“We’re the Elric brothers. A lot of people have heard of us.”

  
“Oh, yeah, I know you! You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!”

  
SMASH.

  
Deliylah gasped as warm tea splashed onto her ankles. Her hands shook as she scrambled to grab the pieces of the now shattered teacup that had slipped from her gloved fingers. With a name like that it could mean one thing. Simple alchemy was one matter, but Deliylah had felt almost nothing but misery because of state alchemists. They may have saved her life, but they also ruined it.

  
“I-I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up right away… I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was doing…,” she stuttered. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the blonde boy grappling with several terrified men. When had a fight broken out? It the midst of the chaos she could hear the boy who had been calm a moment earlier screeching something about ‘not calling him short.’ The armored one, on the other hand, had heard the cup smash and was now leaning over to help her.

  
“Are you alright, miss?” His voice sounded much higher than what she had been expecting. It almost sounded like a child was in the armor instead of what she assumed to be a full grown man.

  
“I-I’m fine. I’m sorry about the cup, you can add it to my tab… I-I need to go, I’m sorry, I’ll pay later!" She snatched the bucket and soap and turned to race off to the church, but before she could take two steps she reared back. She had come an inch away from colliding straight into a young woman only a few years older than herself, who was seventeen, Rose Thomas.

  
“My, things sure seem lively today, huh? Oh, hey Deliylah, I didn’t see you there. You alright?”

  
“Uh, yes, I’m fine, thank you, Rose. A-Are you coming to the church later?”

  
“Yes, I am. You know, with how much you clean the altar you should consider-”

  
Deliylah cut her off, knowing full well what she was about to say. “I know you mean well, Rose, but people of my religion don’t give it up that easily, especially to somebody like the ‘Sun God Leto.’” She shifted the weight of the bucket in her hands and quickly bid Rose goodbye with a nod of her head and rushed off in the direction of the church, wanting to get away from the stranger alchemists as soon as she could.

  
When she had gained a few blocks between herself and she shop, she allowed herself to slow down a bit. Moving the metal bucket into one hand, she subconsciously combed her bangs over her eye. She stopped in a window to make sure that her face really was hidden before walked back out in the open.

  
Several minutes later she had managed to catch her breath and had made it through the front doors of the church of Leto. After filling the bucket with room temperature water and grabbing a clean rag, she began to do her job, scrubbing wax and dust from the altar in front of the large statue depicting the Great Sun God Leto. However, not three minutes later she heard the door open and turned to see the newcomers; her heart skipped a beat and she almost knocked over her bucket of soapy water.

  
The same alchemists from before, the young blonde boy and the large man donning a suit of armor, were walking up the aisle on their way to the altar, looking around at the high ceiling and tall pillars and eventually the large statue. “So, this is the great god Leto, huh?”

  
Deliylah turned back to the altar, scrubbing as a particularly tough piece of wax stuck to the stone. ‘If I pretend they aren’t there, they’ll go away.’ She repeatedly thought to herself. They sat at the front pews, and though she could feel their eyes on her back, they thankfully kept to themselves.

  
“Oh, you two again!” Deliylah hadn’t even realized Rose had shown up. “Are you going to join the church of Leto?”

  
“Naw, sorry, but I’m not religious.”

  
‘No, alchemists never are, are they...’ She kept thinking to herself.

  
Rose sighed. “Well that’s not a real answer! If you believe! In God, you can live with hope and gratitude every day. It’s wonderful! If you have faith, you’ll grow taller for sure!”

  
At this Deliylah looked up. “Rose, please,” she murmured quietly.

  
Rose’s words seemed to have made him about as angry as he was been at the shop. Apparently he didn’t like being called small. Deliylah could only have guessed that the customers there had called him something along the lines of tiny.

  
He let out an angry huff and sat down on one of the wooden pews. “Sheesh, how can you honestly believe these things? Do you really believe that if you pray to God the dead will come back to life?”

  
Rose paused a moment before answering. “Yes, I do.”

  
Deliylah sighed softly. Even she knew that the dead would never come back to life. And apparently he knew that too, because the next thing he did was take out a book and begin reading out loud, reciting a list of complicated chemicals. When he finished he snapped the book shut, but by that time Deliylah had stopped listening.

  
“...the elements found in a human being is all junk you can buy in any marker with a child’s allowance. Humans are pretty cheaply made.” Deliylah's hands twisted the rag in annoyance. How insulting!

  
And apparently Rose thought so too. “People aren’t objects! That’s an insult to the creator! God will punish you for saying things like that!”

  
He chuckled. “Alchemists are scientists. We don’t believe in unprovable concepts like ‘God.’ We strive to uncover the principles of creation in the world, to pursue truth… it’s ironic it’s ironic that we scientists, who don’t believe in God, are in a sense the closest things to him.” At those words Deliylah whirled around, a look of sheer shock donning her face.

  
“What pride… are you saying that you are God’s equal?”

  
He looked at his feet, a sad grin on his lips. “Well, it’s like that myth about the old hero. He made wings made out of wax so he could fly, but when he got too close to the sun, to God, the wax melted and he crashed to the ground.” He glanced at the man in the suit of armor, who nodded softly.

  
By that time Deliylah had practically grown livid with his talk about being on the same plane as God. She threw down her rag and stormed up to him. “If you’re so full of yourself, why don’t you alchemists use your ‘godly powers’ for something good for a change!”

  
“Wha-”

  
“Deliylah…” Rose murmured softly. She had told her all about the atrocities the state alchemists had performed in Ishval, although she never really told her about what Ishvalans thought about alchemy. She didn’t want to ruin a part of the world for Rose like that.

  
“Alchemists are supposed to be for the people, but from what I’ve seen you’ve done nothing but bring war and suffering! My whole childhood I respected alchemists, and then you betrayed us! You talk about being gods but you’re nothing but a bunch of devils who use and abuse your power for your own selfish needs!” Deliylah clenched her fists in anger, but her rage was starting to burn off. She began to feel guilty for shouting, and she hung her head, turning and picking up the bucket she wasn’t aware she had kicked over with shaking hands.

  
She expected the alchemist to argue, but he kept his silence. Instead he sat for a few moments staring at her in confusion. She gathered her supplies and walked stiffly to the back room, getting ready for the sermon. Her hands were still shaking by the time she got there a few minutes late.

  
It took a moment to spot Rose’s unique hair, but when she joined her friends side she almost wished she hadn’t. Rose was deep in what appeared to be confusing conversation with the same alchemists from before.

  
She heard him mutter “I think we’ve found it,” before turning to Rose with a false cheeriness. “Hey lady, I’m starting to get interested in this religion! I’d Love to speak to his holiness, do you think you could take me to him?”

  
“Oh my! So you’re finally starting to believe!”

  
‘I doubt he’s seeing Father for guidance to God.’

  
“Deliylah, you should come too, maybe you’ll change your mind!” Deliylah sighed.

  
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to join you.”

  
After the brothers put in their request to see the Father post-sermon, they sat outside the meeting hall, waiting for him to either accept or deny. Meanwhile, the armored man found a moment to talk to Deliylah.

  
“I’m sorry about my brother, he can get really rude sometimes. You’re the girl who dropped her cup at the restaurant right?” Deliylah nodded. “I thought so… if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened to you to make you hate alchemy so much?”

  
“Actually, no offense but… I kind of do mind.”

  
“Oh, sorry…”

  
Deliylah sighed. “It’s fine, I just… never mind.”  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Secrets on All Sides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having met the brothers, Deliylah's suspicion grows as she accompanies them to see Cornello. Though she's already mistrusting of the church, Ed and Al bring the conflict to a peak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lied im posting more chapters today bc im impatient, here you go

After about ten minutes, Brother Cray came out and announced that Father was ready to see them. “His Holiness is very busy, so it’s not easy to get an audience with him. You two are very lucky.”

  
“I’ll try not to talk for too long.” Edward seemed chipper enough. However, a chill ran up Deliylah’s spine, like something was about to go wrong.

  
“Then let’s end it right away, like this!” Suddenly Brother Cray took out a gun, a small revolver, and pointed it directly at Alphonse’s head. Deliylah cried out to warn him, but her words were drowned out by the sound of a bullet hitting metal and the ringing of a helmet hitting the stone floor. Two men blocked off Edwards path with their staffs.

  
Deliylah grabbed onto Rose’s elbow, recoiling at the painfully loud noise. Rose turned to Cray in shock. “Brother Cray, what are you doing?”

  
“Rose, these heathens were trying to entrap his Holiness. They’re evil.”

  
“What?! But his Holiness would never let you do this… let you...”

  
“But he did allow it! The word of his Holiness are the words of God. This is the will of God!” He finished his sentence by aiming his gun at Edward.

  
He couldn’t fire, however, because his aim was blocked by an armored hand. “I guess there are really some bad God’s out there.”

  
Deliylah and Rose stood frozen in terror. Alphonse’s head had been blown clean off and yet he still stood, and what’s more, he seemed to have no body whatsoever!

  
Fists and bodies flew, and by the end of it Brother Cray and the two guardsmen who had gone after Edward were sprawled on the floor, out like a light.

  
Rose began shaking, pointing a trembling finger at Alphonse’s empty body. “Wh-Wha-What’s- h-he’s empty!”

  
“Nothing special.”

  
“It’s just what it looks like.” Alphonse leaned over, revealing a completely empty suit of armor with what looked like an alchemic rune drawn in some sort of red paint. A few seconds of staring and Deliylah realized that it wasn't paint, it was blood.

  
“Th-There’s nothing inside! How-?”

  
“...this is what happens when you commit the greatest sin… when you trespass in God’s domain… my brother and I...”

  
“Edward, you too?” He was facing away from the two girls, but Deliylah could tell that he wasn’t very comfortable with the topic.

  
“Well, lets just save that story for another time… anyway, I guess your God showed his true colors.”

  
Rose looked around at the beaten men around her. “No, there has to be some kind of mistake!” Edward let out an annoyed grunt and mumbled something under his breath.

  
“What about you, Deliylah? What do you think about ‘his phoniness?’” Deliylah kept silent for a moment.

  
“I-I’m not sure what to think. I won’t say that this isn’t Father Cornello’s doing, but I’ve never known him to be a particularly violent man. If Brother Cray was doing this on his own then it

would be insulting to even try to accuse the Father of attempting to kill you. I think we need to see the Father himself.”

  
“But Deliylah, there’s just no way that Father Cornello would do something like this!”

  
Edward sighed. “Rose, do you have the courage to face the truth?”

  
A few minutes later Rose and Deliylah had managed to stuff themselves into the empty torso of Al’s armor. Although it was efficient when it came to spying, it wasn’t top notch in comfort.

Deliylah banged her head on either the metal wall of Al’s chest or on Rose’s own forehead.

  
She heard doors creak open, and then the faint sound of Cornello’s voice greeting the brothers from what was probably the second level in the large meeting hall.

  
Most of the conversation was muffled, but fortunately, Deliylah’s hearing was perfect.

  
There was a pause before Cornello’s tone changed from friendly to somewhat malicious. “Heh, the government gets their money’s worth you of you, don’t they? I guess you saw through the whole thing. Correct!” Rose let out the tiniest gasp, and Deliylah placed a finger to her lips. If they wanted more information, they needed to keep quiet. “The Philosophers Stone, the legendary catalyst, the amplifier of all alchemical process. With this, I can conjure at the minimum price with the maximum result.”

  
“How I’ve searched for that…” The envy in Edwards voice concerned Deliylah. Exactly how long had he been looking for it?

  
“Ha! What’s with the jealous look in your eyes? What would you want the Stone for? Money? Honor?”

  
“And what about you? What do you get out of founding this phony religion? If it’s money you want you can make as much as you want with the Stone.”

  
“It isn’t about the money… well, I do what that, but I can get as much of that as I need in the form of donations from my flock. What I really need are followers who will happily give their lives for me.”

  
Now Deliylah was the one to gasp. Luckily Alphonse let out the tiniest gasp of his own, so hers was somewhat covered.

  
“Think about it! An invincible army of fanatics with no fear of death! Soon I’ll have more than enough people! Just watch, within a few years time this entire nation will be mine!” He began laughing maniacally. From what Deliylah could see in the low light, Rose’s eyes were wide with dismay.

  
Edward however, seemed bored. “Well, fine, but I don’t really care about that, let’s move on.” He muttered just loud enough for everybody in the room to hear.

  
“What?! Don’t belittle my ambition by saying that you ‘don’t care!’ You’d better care! You’re a member of the military, after all!”

  
“You know, to be honest, I really couldn’t care what happens to my country or the military. I’ll be blunt. Give me the Philosophers Stone! If you do that I’ll stay quiet about the scam you’ve been pulling on everybody.”

  
“Hmph, are you trying to bargain with me? My followers would never believe the words of an outsider like you! The people of this town love me! They think that my words come from God! Those idiots will believe anything I tell them! I’ve completely fooled them!”

  
Ed clapped his hands together. “Wow! You are smart! Thanks for telling us how you do it.”

  
“You’re right, they won’t believe a word I say, but…” Deliylah heard the straps keeping Al’s chestplate in place snap apart. “But what about their words?”

  
Light flooded the cavity where Deliylah and Rose had stuffed themselves. Both looked out into the hall and locked eyes with Father Cornello. “R-Rose?! Deliylah?! What is the meaning of this?!”

  
Rose jerked herself out of Al’s body, accidentally shoving Deliylah aside roughly. “Father! Is what you said just now true? Were you fooling us this whole time? Your miracles aren’t real? The power of God can’t grant my wish? You can’t bring my darling back again?!”

  
Deliylah managed to clamber out of the armor a little more carefully, apologizing to Alphonse.

  
Father Cornello gave Rose a suspicious look. “Hm… It’s true that I am not god’s emissary, but with the power of the Philosophers Stone, I can do what other alchemists cannot. Rose, I will resurrect him! I am the only one who can grant you your wish. Remember your beloved! Be a good girl and come here, both of you.” He motioned towards both Rose and Deliylah.

  
Al shouted a warning to her, which Ed finished. “If you go, you can never turn back!” Even Deliylah protested, trying to take her hand.

  
Despite their objections, however, Rose obediently walked over and stood by the Father’s side. “I’m sorry… but this is the only thing I can do.”

  
Father Cornello smiled in satisfaction. “Good child… you too Deliylah, come here my young one. You may not follow the ways of Leto, but you are still one of us.”

  
Deliylah, however, remained firmly still. “I am not. I’ve heard enough, Father. Letoism is fake, just as I thought.”

  
“Just as the military thought that your religion was fake?”

  
Deliylah glared at the Father, rage beginning to boil. “Don’t you dare…” If he dared to say the name out loud, especially in front of a State Alchemist, it would be all over.

  
He grinned. “After they wiped out your people in that once great nation, after they sent alchemists to take your holy land away from you, you came fleeing to Lior, and I took you in. You owe me a debt, Ishvalan.” She flinched. Now he’d done it.

  
Edward glanced her way. “What did he just say?”

  
She sighed and closed her eyes, then slowly pulled her bangs away from her face like a curtain, revealing the brown skin that she hid behind it. “I may not look it, Edward… but I was born, raised, and nearly killed in the land of Ishval. That’s why I don’t like alchemy, and why I hate State Alchemists. The slaughtered my people and obliterated my homeland. And when they took me in with my strange skin not seen in other Ishvalans, after promising me safety and a home, they threw me aside, just another dirty Ishvalan girl. I managed to hide myself my dying my hair and covering what little brown skin I had left with clothing and makeup.” She opened her eyes and looked directing into Edwards golden ones. He gasped lightly when confronted with the vibrant red iris of her right eye.

  
“But… if you’re Ishvalan, how come you have white skin?” Edward asked, partially curious and partially wary.

  
“Brother!” Al cried out, warning Edward not to delve too deep into her past, but Deliylah shook her head.

  
“It’s alright, Alphonse. I was born with a very rare skin condition that destroys the pigment in my skin and left eye. I was an outcast for many years amongst my people because I looked like the ‘Amestrian dogs’ who had betrayed us. My own parents nearly threw me out because they thought I was cursed. How ironic that I was the only one of my village to survive the genocide.” She chuckled softly, although not finding what she had said remotely funny.

  
“Enough of this chatter. Deliylah, come here at once!” Father Cornello interrupted.

  
“I said no! You can take your phony god and do whatever you want, I’m not going to obey you any longer! I’ve had enough of lies and deceit!” She yelled back.

  
“... fine. Then you can be purged along with the rest of the heretics that stand before me.” He reached back and pulled a lever. “The Philosphers Stone truly is incredible, it can even create new life, like this. Have you ever seen a chimera?” Deliylah turned to see a large, ferocious creature come from the shadows. From what she could see, he had mixed a lion, and some sort of reptile or bird to create a deadly chimera.

  
“Looks like this one might be tough to play with empty handed,” Ed sighed, not even bothered by the monstrosity. He clapped his hands together and crouched towards the ground. Blue light from the transmutation lit up the room like a lightning storm. What surprised Deliylah the most was the lack of a transmutation circle. She hadn’t seen one on Edwards gloves, and if they were tattooed onto his hands he would had to have to removed his gloves first. From his hands a ornate spear was molded out of the stone of the floor, which he branded with skill.  
Cornello gasped. “Hmm, you made a weapon from the floor without a transmutation circle… so you deserve the title of state alchemist after all!” The chimera charged forward, striking with one clawed paw. The spear instantly shattered like glass, and both Rose and Deliylah cried out. “But that won’t be enough!”

  
Deliylah expected Edward to hit the ground screaming in pain and bloody, but instead a wide grin spread across his face. The chimera whined when the claws on the paw it used to strike then broke off in a rather comedic fashion. Ed’s foot them came up and clipped the chimeras jaw, sending it flying. The light from lamps around the room glinted off metal, and Deliylah gasped when she realized that Edwards leg wasn’t flesh, it was prosthetic. “Sorry, but these are custom made!”

  
“Wh-what’s the matter?! If your claws won’t work, then bite him to death!” Cornello ordered the chimera, and it once again threw itself at Edward, wrapping it’s jaws around the arm he threw up to protect himself. The chimera chewed for a few moments before whining in confusion. It’s teeth were doing nothing.

  
“What’s the matter kitty? Tastes bad?” His leg once again came up and struck the chimera, crushing its jaw and knocking it to the ground and effectively killing it with the sheer force of the blow.

  
Pieces of fabric flew every which way. One of Ed’s gloves had been shredded by the chimeras remaining claws, and Deliylah could faintly make out bolts and metal plates where knuckles and fingers should have been. He gripped at the torn coat and shirt and began pulling, filling the room with the sounds of tearing material.

  
“Look at me, Rose. This is what happens when you use alchemy on humans. This is what happens to sinners who trespass in God’s domain!” All the playfulness had left Edwards voice. Now Deliylah could only hear pure humorless warning. Rose’s hands flew to her mouth.

  
The remains of what had once been Edwards red coat slipped from metal fingers and fell to the floor. An automail arm extended all the way to his shoulder where scars spread across his chest. “Automail… full steel prosthetics… “Fullmetal”, I see, so that’s why… that’s why you’re called the Fullmetal Alchemist!”

  
“Come down here and face me, you third-rate fraud! I’ll show you there’s no comparison between us!” He held up his arm menacingly, as if it was going to fly off and punch Cornello straight in the face.

  
Cornello, however, grinned at the sight. “I see, now I understand who you are! It was always a mystery to why a mere brat had a fearsome alias like ‘Fullmetal,’ but know I know… look at them Rose, Deliylah! Those two dared to do the one thing forbidden to alchemists, the unspeakable crime of human transmutation! They’ve committed the worst possible sin!”

  
As these words left Cornellos mouth, Deliylah could see Rose’s eyes grow wider and wider with realization. If bringing somebody back from the dead was forbidden by alchemical law, then how was Cornello supposed to bring Rose’s boyfriend back from Gods arms?


	3. Journeys Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deliylah's time in Lior comes to an end with the reign of Cornello, and her journey with the Elric brothers begins. Meanwhile, a new threat emerges, lurking unknown.

Alphonse’s voice took Deliylah by surprise. She had almost forgotten that he was behind her. She jumped a bit, taking a step forward in Ed’s direction. “We never had any doubts about doing it. Our mother was so kind, the kindest person in the world. All we wanted to just to see our mother’s smile again. Even if it meant breaking the laws of alchemy. That was the only reason we were studying it, after all. But the resurrection failed. When it failed, my brother lost his left leg, and I had my whole body taken. I lost consciousness for a while. The next thing I saw when I opened my eyes was this armor body and a sea of blood.” Deliylah swallowed to stop herself from retching at the thought. “Even after the horrible injury if losing his left leg, my older brother exchanged his right arm for my soul, putting it in this suit of armor.”

  
Then Ed spoke. “Heh, the two of us tried to resurrect one person, and this is what happened. This is what it takes to raise the dead, Rose. Are you ready to make that sacrifice!?”

  
Deliylah took Rose’s shoulder, comforting her the best she could in such tense circumstances. A sharp yell from father Cornello brought Deliylah to attention, fear running down her spine, every sense of fight of flight blaring like alarms.

  
“You fools are the ones who came too close to God and fell to earth! If that’s the case, then this time I’ll make sure to send you to him for good!” He brought the lower half of his his cane up and gripped it tightly as if somebody was about to take it away from him.

  
Then bright red light sparked from his ring and the cane turned into a very large and very deadly looking machine gun. He aimed at Edward and opened fire. Unfortunately for her, Deliylah happened to be standing directly behind him.

  
Edward glanced back at her sharply and then quickly crouched to the ground. With bullets incoming, she did the same, and a moment later found herself in the shadow of a wall that Ed had transmuted in front of them. “Sorry, God doesn’t like me very much. Even if I went, he’d probably chase me away!” His voice was dripping with both sarcasm and amusement.

  
Next, Cornello turned his eyes to Alphonse, who had picked up Rose was was starting to make his way to the exit. Cornello let loose a shower of bullets, which either missed or ricocheted off Al’s armor back. Even though she was protected, Rose let out a scream and curled up in Al’s arms.

  
“This way,” Ed hollered to the three of them.

  
“The doors rigged, only Cornello can open it!”

  
“Oh really? Well, as I always say, if you can’t find a door, make one instead!” A moment and a transmutation later a large, ornate door made with rather bad taste swung open. Deliylah raced behind Ed and Al as fast as her skirt would let her.

  
With Cornello long behind them, Ed, Al, Rose, and Deliylah all raced down the hall and out of the church. When passing one room, Ed stopped and backtracked. “Huh? What’s this?”

  
Al finally put Rose down, and after adjusting her skirt, she answered him. “The broadcasting room. This is where Father Cornello delivers his sermons over the radio.”

  
“Oh really?” Ed smirked, putting a hand to his chin. Deliylah could almost see gears turning in his head. Al sighed. “Al, I have an idea! If I can lure “His Phoniness” in here, I might be able to get him to talk. If you transmute the big bell from the tower into a broadcaster, we can reveal it all to the whole town.”

  
“But we already know, can’t we just tell them? Like you said, they won’t listen to you, but Rose is a member of the church and I’m pretty well known in the community,” Deliylah piped up. However, Edward shook his head.

  
“I don’t think one misguided follower and an Ishvalan who scrubs the altar are gonna do much. But if Cornello himself says so, then they’ll have no choice but to believe,” Ed explained.

  
Deliylah nodded in agreement. “That makes sense. Is there anything I can do?”

  
“If you go with Al, you and Rose can lead him up to the belltower.”

  
“Alright,” she said, surprising herself with her own confidence. Perhaps she had been wanting to expose his falsehood for longer than she had thought. She led the armor through a largely unused staircase and up to the ledge under where the bell was. He leapt up, snatching the bell from its hanging place and jumping back down just before the six o’clock bell ringer reached the last step into the tower. Even from down on the ledge, Deliylah could hear the man’s gasp of astonishment.

  
While setting down the bell on the ground and drawing the transmutation circle, Alphonse explained what he was doing. “I’m changing it into a loudspeaker, since they have similar components and are roughly the same size. Do you know what this bell’s made of?”

  
“Last time I checked, it was iron,” Deliylah answered.

  
“Why do you need to know that,” Rose asked.

  
“Well, alchemy is the basis of understanding, deconstruction, and then reconstruction. If I don’t know what the bell is made of, then I can’t deconstruct it or reconstruct it into what I need. I also can’t make a small object into something big enough to broadcast Ed and Cornello’s voices to the whole town. Alchemy is also based on the principle of equivalent exchange.” Al explained. Deliylah understood the basics of what he was saying, but Rose seemed confused.

  
“I can’t believe you have to do all that just to perform alchemy…”

  
“I told you, the foundation of alchemy is the equivalent exchange. ‘To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.’ People call my brother a genius, but the reason he’s so good at alchemy is because he paid the price… and worked so hard.”

  
Rose gave a halfhearted, breathy laugh. “But because you sacrificed so much, you must have been able to bring your mother back…”

  
If Alphonse had a face, it would have darkened. Despite the fact that he only had a steel helmet for a head, Deliylah could almost see the melancholy, as if he were remembering a horrible old memory. His hands stopped attaching a wire to the bell, now an enormous speaker.

  
“The thing we brought back wasn’t even human anymore.”

  
Deliylah and Rose gasped. “But that… that’s not fair...” Deliylah whispered.

  
“Life and death are a part of the flow of the world. We’ve given up on transmuting humans, but my brother still wants to get me my original body. I’d like to make my brother’s body the way it was, too. But like I said before, the risks are high. We might even get killed along the way. That’s just how it is.” He stood up and looked Rose directly in the eyes. “Rose, that’s why you can’t choose this path.”

  
Both were silent for a moment. Then all three jumped when static came from what was now a speaker. “Yo, Al, if you can hear me, I can hear his footsteps. Get ready.”

  
“Showtime, I guess.” He hauled the speaker onto his shoulder as the sound of approaching footsteps came from it.

  
“You little runt, you’re not getting away!” Cornello had obviously been running for some time. He sounded out of breath and flustered.

  
“Just give up, will you? News of your trickery will spread throughout the the town in no time anyway.” Edward sounded almost bored.

  
“Shut up! Everyone within the church in under my direct control! They’d never believe a stupid follower if she contradicted me, and that Ishvalan brat Deliylah isn’t even in the order!” Deliylah gasped in horror, her hands flying to her mouth.

  
“He just… the microphone’s on… he just told the whole town that I’m Ishvalan! I’ll be run out of town for sure!” She collapsed to the ground, her realization running laps in her head.

  
She thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Cornello laughing madly. “Did you think you could stop my plans so easily!? You underestimated the power or blind faith!”

  
At these words, Edward started laughing as well. “What? What’s so funny?” Cornello obviously had no idea that he was on air.

  
“This is why I keep saying you’re third rate, baldy. Know what this is?”

  
And then he did.

  
“You… you couldn’t have….. YOU LITTLE RAT!” Deliylah flinched as Cornello screamed into the microphone. By now the entire town was silent, listening to what they had just hear Cornello himself say over the radio. “Ho-How long?! How long has that been on?!?!”

  
“The whole time~ You just exposed your entire plan to the entire town. All of your ‘mindless fanatics.’ So much for blind faith~” He almost seemed to be enjoying tearing Cornello apart.  
Suddenly, transmission cut out after loud crashes and something about Cornello wanting to kill Edward were heard before static, saying that either the off button had been pushed, or the wire connecting the speaker had been cut. Sure enough, Alphonse tugged the wire, feeling slack and eventually pulling up a ragged end.

  
Rose turned to Deliylah. “Are you… are you alright?” She was trembling, and a look of loss adorned her face.

  
“I don’t know… the town will drive me out for sure… somebody will call the military… I can’t stay here….”

  
Her words were cut off by what felt like an earthquake. “What is that?” A shadow fell over them, and Deliylah’s question was answered by a huge statue of Leto breaking through the ceiling before another loud crash shook the ground at their feet again.

  
“We should see if he’s alright…” Al commented softly.

  
When the three got through what was left of the doors, they were greeted with the sight of a large stone fist having apparently punted Cornello to the ground, where he still lay in shock. Where his arm had been before, a twisted form of flesh and metal now came from his shoulder; Deliylah could barely make out fingers from wires.

  
Sitting off the the side, a rather exasperated looking Edward waved to them with a glum expression on his face.

  
“Did you get the Stone?”

  
Ed hung his head. “No… I’m sorry, Alphonse. It shattered as soon as it hit the ground.” His voice was sewn with defeat.

  
“It was a fake?” Alphonse inquired.

  
Edward nodded. “Yeah, just like him. It was all a waste of time. Just when I thought we were about to get your old body back…”

  
Alphonse gave a half hearted chuckle. “We need to worry about you first. Automail has a lot of problems.”

  
Edward sighed and stood up. “Well, I guess we’ll have to look somewhere else, then. Back on the road…”

  
His attention was caught by Rose’s knees hitting the floor. “But… there must be some mistake, I mean… they told me he would come back to life… they promised me… they said he would come back…” Deliylah crouched by her, placing a hand on her trembling back. “What do I do now? What am I supposed to believe in? Are you going to tell me?” She looked up at Edward. Tears were streaming down her face, dripping from her chin onto the broken stone floor. “Well?! Are you?!,” she scream her question, hysteria creeping into her voice.

  
“You need to figure that on your own.” Deliylah glanced up at Edward as he walked by. “Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You have two strong legs, so use them.”

  
Deliylah contemplated her options. She could either stay and face ridicule from the town and possibly the military, or she could run, go somewhere else and start a new life with people who either didn’t know who she was or didn’t care. Her best chance at her second option was walking away. She had a split second decision to make.

  
And she made it. She stood up and ran towards the boy’s retreating forms, leaping down the steps. “Edward, Alphonse, wait!” They stopped and turned around. She stopped just before them and took a deep breath. “I… I know this isn’t really appropriate of me to ask… but is it alright if I traveled with you?” She explained herself when Edward raised an eyebrow. “I don’t have anywhere else to go. My lodgings and source of income were provided by the Church. Now that it’s been torn apart, I don’t have anything. Besides... I’d like to help you complete your goal.”

  
Edward stared at the girl for a moment, wondering whether or not to let her come along. Glancing at his brother, who nodded, he shrugged. “The more the merrier, right? Go get your things and meet us at the train station. We’re leaving for Youswell tonight.”

  
Deliylah smiled. “Thank you so much!” She raced off to where what remained of her room was in the broken Church, throwing what she had, her clothes, makeup, and one book, into a suitcase. After thoroughly checking that she had everything she needed, she left a note on her pillow for Rose, telling her where she was. Then she headed out the door for one last time before meeting the brothers at the station.

  
“You ready? You know you won’t be coming back here.”

  
She nodded. “Yes, I’ve got everything.”

  
He smiled softly. “Alright, lets go, the train’s here.”

  
“Ok!”

 

Meanwhile, in the dark meeting room, a two women, one beautiful and curvy and one thin and wiry, and a rather large man munching on what remained of a chimera waited for one other.

  
“Do you think he’ll be here, Lust?”

  
“He won't have anywhere else to go but here. Don’t worry about it.”

  
“What if he turns his back on us?”

  
“Then we will have to eliminate him.”

  
“If you say so…”

  
Lust chuckled softly. “You say that a lot, don’t you?”

  
“Every damn day. You and Envy make all the plans, all I do is worry about them and help carry them out.”

  
At that moment, and older and injured man staggered into the room, muttering. A sinister smile played on Lusts full lips.

  
“I can’t believe that runt ruined my plans... I won’t allow it… I’ve invested too much in this to let it fall apart...”

  
“Really, you were so close, and now everything’s ruined.” The older man flinched and looked up when Lust spoke.

  
“Long time no see. Wish it was longer,” the second woman jeered.

  
“You’ve caused a lot of trouble, Your Holiness.”

  
Cornello’s face contorted with anger. Sweat dripped from his chin. “Wh-What is the meaning of this? The Stone you gave me broke into pieces! How dare you give me a fake?!”

  
Lust scoffed. “Please, like we would give the real thing to someone like you.”

  
“You… You said I could take over the country with the Stone.”

  
“Hm, I did say something like that, didn’t I? All we wanted for you was to cause a little trouble in this region. That’s all.” She snickered. “What? You look surprised!”

  
The second woman scoffed. “Did you really think a third-rate despot like you could become ruler of a country? You really are too much!”

  
The larger man sitting on the ground threw away the chimera leg he was munching on. “Lust, can I eat the old man? He’s big and fat!”

  
“Not this one, Gluttony, we don’t want to give you indigestion. If you eat this third-rate… no, this fourth-rate fool…”

  
Cornello finally had enough and cried out in fury, lunging at the women. “Now you, too? Everybody’s mocking me! I won’t stand for it, I-”

  
His sentence was cut off with a spurt of blood. Lusts finger extended into a deadly spear, piercing his forehead and erupting out the other side. “You are no longer of any use~” His eyes rolled back into his head, his entire body twitching oddly.

  
Lust pulled away, her finger retracting from his skull trailing blood and brain matter. A loud thud echoed in the room as he collapsed to the floor, his face smacking the stone. Lust turned her back, uncaring about the fact that she had just murdered somebody. She then sighed, as if somebody had splashed mud on her boots. “Aww, and things were starting to go so well. Father will be furious. So what should our next plan be?”

  
The second woman shrugged. “I can call in a favor from our favorite shapeshifter? Nobody saw you kill third-rate here, we can just replace him.”

  
“Whatever you say, Jealousy- Hey, I thought I told you not to eat that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ha thought there was one OC insert? sike theres like 5 overall get ready~


	4. The Mines of Youswell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her new traveling companions, Deliylah heads to the Youswell coal mines, uncovering conspiracies and getting a little singed in the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to post last week, so I'll post two chapters this week. Sorry to keep you waiting!

The scenery blurred by with each chug of the train. Deliylah craned her neck around Alphonse, wide eyed and enthralled at the world outside. She had never been this far East, or this far North. Edward was just going to have to deal with her childish fascination of train rides.

  
Edward didn’t mind, of course. He doubted that she had ever even been on a train before. His attention went from the girl to his brother when he spoke.

  
“Looks like we’re the only one’s on board, brother.”

  
He nodded. “I’ve heard the rumors, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Guess this isn’t exactly tourist country…” He picked up his map, looking closely at it. “The town on the Eastern Border… the Youswell coal mines...”

  
Deliylah pulled her eyes from the window. “Are you here on orders?”

  
“Mhm. We’ve heard a few complains, so Colonel Mustang’s sent us out here to inspect it.”

  
She furrowed her brows at the sound of the name. ‘Where have I heard it before...’ Before she could think of a reason, a whistle sounded, quiet enough to not bother the very few passengers, but loud enough to hear, signaling their arrival at the Youswell station.

  
The scent of dust and coal lingered in the air and there was barely a surface in sight that didn’t have a thin coating of dirt. Deliylah sneezed, adjusted her hair with one hand, tightly clutching her suitcase with the other.

  
“So this is where we get coal...” Edward murmured, looking around.

  
“‘The wild frontier,’ eh? I always thought a place like this would be a little more lively. Everybody seems really tired…”

  
BONK.

  
Deliylah looked over at the source of the sound of metal hitting a skull and saw Edward sprawled on the ground, clutching his head. The sound of a half hearted apology pulled her attention to a dirt covered boy perhaps a few years younger than Edward. When he realized that the three were not familiar, his attitude flipped.

  
“Hey! You from out of town? Where ya from? Need a meal? A place to stay?” He asked questions one right after another, completely ignoring Edwards stuttered responses. He then turned and waved excitedly to somebody in the distance. Deliylah was about as stunned as Alphonse, the two sharing a glance. “Dad! We got customers!”

  
A man coming from one of the mines carrying rope, chains, and a steel pole stopped when he heard the boys shout. “What’s that Khayal?”

  
“Customers! A piggy bank!”

  
Edward jumped up, almost speechless. Almost. “A what!?”

  
The man, apparently the boy named Khayal’s father, removed his helmet, revealing fiery eyes and a grimy mustache. “You don’t say~? Well, kids, come with me, my inn is the best in the town!”

  
Deliylah and Alphonse exchanged looks as they gathered up their luggage, wondering how they managed to get a place to stay so soon after arriving.

  
When they arrived at the cozy inn, Ed, Al, and Deliylah set down their bags and took a seat, grateful for a place to sit and get off their feet.

  
“Sorry about the mess, the mines don’t pay very much, so we run this inn to get by.” Mr. Halling explained, bringing pints of beer to other customers seated around the inn.

  
A muscular man, obviously a miner, laughed heartily. “What’re you talking about, chief? Your problem is, you’re a soft touch, always givin’ what you make to the poor! That’s why your old lady’s always cryin’!”

  
“Pipe down, will you?! If you got a problem with how I spend my money, then hurry up and pay me what you owe me for booze!” Loud laughter rippled through the building.

  
A woman, most likely Mrs. Halling, approached them with a kind smile on her face. “So there’s three of you, would you like one nights stay and two meals each?”

  
“How much?”

  
“What, afraid you can’t afford it?” A sly grin ran across Mr. Halling’s face.

  
“Oh, don’t worry, we brought enough.”

  
“200 thousand!”

  
Edward fell out of his chair. “200 thousand?! What a rip off! You’re off by a decimal point!”

  
“I said you might not be able to afford it.”

  
Edward groaned, blowing them off. “Forget it, we’ll go somewhere else.”

  
Mr. Halling gripped Edwards head, stopping him in his tracks. “There’s no escape, piggy bank!”

  
Khayal laughed behind them. “Don’t bother, the prices are the same everywhere else, too.”

  
Edward and Alphonse huddled in the corner, whispering about their money. “So, you’re here on a trip then?” Mrs. Halling asked.

  
“Mhm,” Deliylah nodded. “I think after this we’re going to be on our way to Central. I’ve never been there before, so it sounds like fun.”

  
“Where were you before?”

  
“Oh, I lived in Lior for a while, then I met the brothers and-”

  
“DAD, THIS GUY’S AND ALCHEMIST!” Khayals call cut her off, and the entire inn’s attention went to Edward.

  
“An alchemist, huh? Like, the kind that can fix things?”

  
Edward shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Is there anything you need fixed?”

  
“Well, if it isn’t much of a hassle one of our pickaxes broke.”

  
“Bring it here. The whole thing, or I can’t fix it.”

  
Khayal disappeared into a back room and reappeared soon after with an armful of what used to be a pickax. The head must have hit something wrong and snapped in half. Both pieces clunked onto the table in front of Edward. The bar’s customers eagerly watched, waiting for something to happen. Ed clapped his hands together, and after a sharp blast of light, the pickax was back in one piece and in even better condition than when it was bought. The miners gathered around in awe, ‘oh’ing and ‘ah’ing at the bright, shiny tool.

  
The owner of the pickax pointed to it excitedly, a large grin on his face. “It looks brand new!”

  
“This is great! Our first customer in ages and he’s an alchemist,” another man exclaimed.

  
Mrs. Halling laughed softly as she watched the scene, leaning over to Deliylah. “Alchemists are pretty popular here. Are you an alchemist as well?”

  
Deliylah shook her head, chuckling awkwardly. “Oh, no, I’m not! It’s not as popular where I’m from, in fact people don’t really like alchemy.”

  
“Ah, I’m sorry. And where are you from?” Deliylah froze. She had never really had to answer that question before; in Lior she could just say “Oh, somewhere,” and they would be satisfied with her answer, but Mrs. Halling was a stranger, and she would most likely be interested in where she came from. She couldn’t answer “Ishval,” who knew how she would react.

  
She was saved from answering, however, by the realization that the entire inn had gone dead silent.

  
“So you’re Elric the alchemist, then… the state alchemist?” Deliylah didn’t really like how he had said ‘state alchemist.’ It reminded her too much of how the people from her village talked about alchemy.

  
“Well, sort of…,” he answered awkwardly, reaching for his cup. It, like his food apparently had been according to the fork stuck in the table, was swiped from him before he could grab it. “Hey, what’s the big deal?!”

  
Next thing she knew, she and the brothers were being thrown on the street. “Get lost!”

  
Edward wheeled around. “Hey, we’re paying customers!”

  
Mr. Hallings attitude had completely changed from the generous demeanor he had before. Now he looked disgusted. “Blegh, we don’t have food or lodgings for dogs of the military,” he snarled back.

  
Alphonse raised one hand and put another around Deliylah. “Um, we’re civilians. We aren’t ‘state’ anythings.”

  
A sweet smile played on Mr. Hallings lips. “Oh, thats fine then! Come on in!”

  
“You traitors!!” Ed called out in disbelief. Al pulled Deliylah by the shoulders behind him, who looked back at Edward apologetically.

  
Disappointed miners trudged back into the inn, scuffing their boots on the floor. “Man, just when I thought we had a paying guest. What a let down.”

  
Al and Deliylah took their seats back at the table. She ducked her head to try and avoid more attention. Al, on the other hand, decided to try and figure out what was going on. “State alchemists aren’t too popular here, aren’t they?”

  
Khayal scoffed. “Of course, everyone around here hates soldiers. This town’s under the authority of Lieutenant Yoki, but all he cares about is making money.

  
A miner from the bar leaned over, stating unpleasant facts. “I hear he spends it all on bribes to his superiors back in Central City.”

  
“I heard he even bought his way to being a Lieutenant,” the miner whose pickaxe Ed fixed grumbled, taking a sip from his cup.

  
“Used to be he just owned the coal mines, but then he got greedy about movin’ on up.”

  
Al glanced over to the man who just spoke in surprise. “Huh? So this is…?”

  
The man’s friend nodded. “Yup. This is Yoki’s private property.”

  
“That rat owns everything in this town. We don’t get paid enough to get by! And even if we complain to somebody higher up, Yoki bribes them all, so they won’t help!”

  
Khayal sighed, pointing his thumb at the miners who all spoke. “See? It sucks, huh?”

  
A low voice sounded beside Deliylah, making her jump. “And then there’s the state alchemists,” Mr. Halling said, placing down two trays of food for Al and herself. “‘Alchemists be thou for the people.’ Thats the slogan of the alchemists, the source of their pride.” He turned away, a sour look on his face. “I know they get a lot in return, but I can’t forgive people who sell their souls to the state.” He walked away to tend to other guests, his shoulders drooping.

  
After a few minutes, when the miners attention had gone to other things like booze and friends, Deliylah noticed Al slip the tray into his lap. “Follow me,” he whispered, and then, quietly as a tall suit of pure steel armor could, he slid from his seat and calmly walked out the door, Deliylah in tow.

  
Edward could be seen laying on the porch, looking miserable. He was muttering something about Al being a traitor when he knelt in front of him, holding out the tray. “We snuck out with the food they gave me.”

  
Ed stared at Al for a moment before wrapping his arms around him in an almost comically grateful hug. “Dear brother!”

  
Al sat next to Ed as he ate, quoting what the miners had said and describing what the Lieutenant Yoki had done to the town, such as raising taxes, lowering salaries, and bribing officials.

  
“Hmm, these corrupt officials types are everywhere, huh?”

  
Al nodded. “I guess, thanks to this guy, they don’t even get enough food supplies.”

 

  
Ed’s hand wavered, about to take a bite of his sandwich. “I see…”  
The silence was too awkward for Deliylah, so she asked a question that had been on her mind for the past hour. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, is that level of hatred for the military usual for people outside of Ishval?”

  
Ed nodded. “It’s even worse here, that Lieutenant Yoki is causing a lot of trouble. I mean, military personnel like us aren’t very popular to begin with. When I became a state alchemist, I knew I’d get a certain amount of flack, but I never knew they would hate me this much.”

  
“... maybe I should become a state alchemist too,” Al spoke softly.

  
Ed laughed half-heartedly. “It’s not worth it! One person sitting on this bed on needles is enough.”

  
Deliylah spoke even softer than Al. “If it means anything, Ed, you aren’t like a lot of state alchemists I know. You’re better, and kinder. You may be a dog of the military, but you’re too young to have sold your soul like them.”

  
He chuckled. “‘Dog of the military,’ huh? I don’t know how to respond to that. Not only that, but we broke the laws of alchemy and now we’re stuck with these bodies,” Al reminisced. “I wonder what teacher would do if she ever found out…” He placed his head in his hand. Then both he and Ed started shivering in fear. “She… she’d kill us!”

  
Deliylah blinked in surprise, but before she could ask what was wrong she heard military boots stomp up the steps behind her. She wheeled around just as a harsh voice grated her ears. “Out of the way, we’re coming in!” She flinched, inching closer to Al.

  
Ed stood up. “I wonder that that’s all about…”

  
From just in the door, Deliylah saw three military uniforms, two flanking the smallest, who had a handkerchief to his nose. Either he had just sneezed or he was disgusted by the fine layer of dust. “This place looks filthy as usual, Halling.” Disgusted it was.

  
“Well, well, Lieutenant Yoki, what brings you to a shabby little place like this?”

  
“Hey Ed, that must be the guy who’s been causing so much trouble around here, the corrupt Lieutenant,” Deliylah exclaimed, pointing to the mousy little man.

  
“He certainly looks the part,” Ed agreed. Deliylah nodded; She didn’t typically think about stereotypes, but this man had all the makings of a middle aged corrupt official, whether it be the greasy, receding hairline, the thin moustache that he kept grooming with his stubby fingers, or the sour look behind a crow-like nose that he stuck pompously into the air. Even his voice was annoying.

  
“Enough small talk. I hear you’re late on your taxes. I know you’re not the only deadbeat in this town, but don’t expect me to just ignore you.” He reminded Deliylah of a snake, or perhaps a poisonous worm.

  
“I’m very sorry, but we’re barely getting by as it is,” Mr. Halling retorted. Clearly he and the Lieutenant didn’t like each other.

  
“Well, I see you can still afford to sell alcohol, so I guess that means I can lower your salary a little more?”

  
Several miners cursed, and Khayal threw a wet rag at Lieutenant Yoki’s face. “Why you... you better be joking!” The rag hit Yoki’s face with a splat. Both soldiers on either side gasped, and Yoki looked like he was ready to throw up.

  
“Why you little brat! Sir, allow me!” Yoki put up his hand, however, and brought it across Khayals face in a back slap, causing both Mrs. Halling and Deliylah to gasp.

  
He then motioned towards one of his men, who brought out a sword. “I won’t hold back just because he’s a child. Let this be a warning.”

  
“Ed, do something, he’s gonna kill him!” Deliylah pleaded to Ed, who darted forward and threw his arm up in the way of the blade, which broke on impact.

  
The soldiers glanced around, confused. “Wh-Where’d this kid come from?!”

  
Ed shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee, still in his hand. “Just a kid passing through.”

  
Yoki was angry that Ed had interfered, and let him know. “This is none of your business, stay out!”

  
“Well, I heard the Lieutenant was gonna be here,” he dug through his pocket. “I decided to say hello,” he said slyly, pulling out his pocket watch. Yoki stared at it for several moments before reeling back in shock, pulling his subordinates aside with hushed whispers.

  
Deliylah leaned over to Ed. “Um, what are you doing?’

  
“Improvising. Just wait, you’ll see. It’ll be fantastic~” He perked up and small whispers made their way to his ears. “I thought I heard ‘runt’...”

  
Finally Yoki turned back to Ed, slithering his way over with his hands clasped and a sly grin across his face. “I’m sorry if my subordinates were impolite. My name is Yoki, and I am in charge of this town. It must be fate that we met here! There’s no need for you to stay at this pig-pen.” Khayal exclaimed angrily. “Even though we are far away from the city, we have some lovely rooms back at my house! Why don’t you stay there instead?”

  
Edward smiled. “Well, I guess that would be alright, since the owner here is too cheap to let me stay~”

  
Deliylah was very confused, so she turned to Alphonse instead. “Do you know what he’s doing or am I just very much out of the loop?”

  
Al whispered in Deliylah’s ear. “I think I have an idea, but brother didn’t tell me anything either. I think we should just stay here and wait for him.” His sentence was finished by the door slamming and Khayal yelling in anger.

  
“AAAAAGGGH, THAT MAKES ME SO MAD!”

  
“Um, mad at who,” Al timidly asked.

  
“BOTH OF THEM,” the whole inn replied loudly.

 

Later that evening, Deliylah was curled up in bed with Alphonse sitting close by, reading a book. All of a sudden, she bolted upright, causing Al to jump in surprise. “Deliylah? What’s wrong?”

  
“I can smell something.”

  
“What kind of something?”

  
She kept silent for a moment, her eye fixed on the wall. “Fire. Something’s on fire! Al, I think the building’s burning!”

  
Although Al could not smell it, he realized that the crackling of flames was louder than what could come from a fireplace. “You’re right! We need to tell Mr. Halling, he has no idea!” He bolted up, grabbing his luggage.

  
Deliylah grabbed his arm. “Al, I think Khayal is still here, I didn’t hear him leave!” She quickly slid into more covering clothes and bolted down the hall, where flames had begun to lick up the walls.

  
“Deliylah, be careful,” Al cried out, bursting out of the room behind her. She ignored his advice and moved to jump through the wall of fire where she could hear faint screams for help. “No, don’t, you’ll get burned! Get out and go get Mr. Halling, I’ll get Khayal!”

  
“But Al, you might not be able to touch him! You’re made of metal, you could burn him!”

  
“It’s our best chance, I can get him, you can’t! Get out of here, now!” He shoved the luggage into her arms and pushed her downstairs.

  
Deliylah wretched the front door open, throwing herself outside. After tripping on the bottom stair, she threw the suitcases onto the safety of the sidewalk, hiked her skirt up, and raced down the street, her feet pounding on the dirt. When she reached Mr. and Mrs. Hallings house, she pounded on the door with her bare fist, her other glove still tightly clenched in her hand. “Mr. Halling, Mr. Halling, please, come quick! Your inn is on fire!” Seconds later he threw his door open.

  
“What? The inn?”

  
She nodded, out of breath, pointing to the smoke now reaching for the sky. “Al went to get Khayal, but it’s not good, the whole place is up!”

  
Deliylah and Mr. Halling got back to the inn just as it crumbled, the supports cracking and breaking under the weight of burnt wood. Deliylah covered her face with one hand to protect it from flying coals. “KHAYAL! NO, KHAYAL!” He darted forward, but Deliylah was faster, nimbly dashing over cinders and remaining flames. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the faint glint of Alphonse’s back, and she hauled wood off of him until he was able to stand, Khayal curled up in his arms, sweat and tears dripping from his frightened face.

  
Over the next few hours, the whole town had gathered around, giving their condolences and observing the crumbles ashes of what was left of the inn. Deliylah rubbed her neck, sore from the sudden amount of stressful heavy lifting and work.

  
“Alphonse! Deliylah!” Deliylah spun around to see Ed walking towards the two. “What the hell happened here?”

  
“The place the went up in flames. Al and I were still inside, but I got out in time. He stayed in to rescue Khayal, but don’t worry, they’re both ok.”

  
She then turned to Khayal, who was sitting on the ground. “I saw some of Yoki’s underlings hanging about the inn last night,” he mumbled.

  
Deliylah gasped. “What? You think they started the fire?”

  
Ed nodded. “They did. I overheard a conversation between him and one of his subordinates. He was told that they had ‘had a few run ins with them before,’ so he told them to burn it down. I tried to get out as soon as I could and warn you, but I guess I was too late.”

  
“What a dirty thing to do,” Deliylah whispered softly, surveying the wreck of the inn. Mrs. Halling was crouched on the ground clutching the burned sign that had once hung over the door. Mr. Halling placed his arm around her trembling shoulders.

  
“The reason my dad tried to learn alchemy was because he wanted to save this town…” Khayal muttered. Then he had an idea. “Hey, Ed, you’re good enough to make gold, right? Can’t you just whip up some gold to help my dad… and this town?” He pleaded hopefully.

  
But Edward turned away. “No.”

  
“Come on, it’s not gonna cost you anything!”

  
“Alchemy is based on the law of equivalent exchange. Why should I give you free money?” Even Deliylah thought he was being cold.

  
Khayal leapt up, snatching Ed’s collar in anger. “You scumbag! You call yourself an alchemist?!” Deliylah moved forward, placing a hand on Khayals, silently telling him to let go and back off.

  
“Alchemists work for the people, right?” She heard a mutter. Ed shrugged Khayal away. “If I gave you money now, it’d just end up as taxes in Yoki’s vault. I don’t feel like being used by all of you just to get by,” he said, re-adjusting his jacket. “If you’re so desperate, then leave town and find another job.”

  
“Kid, I know you won’t understand, but the mines are our homes…” Mr. Halling retorted, “… and our graves.”

  
Deliylah empathized with the Hallings. Ishval had been home to her, and many of the people in her village had wanted to stay and fight. They wanted to spill their blood rather than run like cowards. Deliylah just hoped that Youswell weren’t ready to die for their mines.

  
She heard Al running and realized Ed had walked away. She bowed apologetically to the townspeople and ran after them. “Brother! Hey, big brother, hold on! Are you real going to abandon these peo-”

  
“Al,” Ed cut him off. Al stopped, and Deliylah caught up with him. They were by one of the exits to the mines, and Ed was observing large carts full of what looked like dirty coal. “How much culm do you think is here?”

  
Al paused for a moment, wondering why Ed was asking a question so off topic. The he looked at the carts and made an estimate. “Uh, one ton? Maybe two?”

  
Deliylah tapped Al on the elbow, since his shoulder was a bit high up. “What’s culm?”

  
“Waste from coal mines. Dirt, coal dust, and stuff like that. Brother, be careful! What are you thinking?” Edward was trying to climb on top of one of the carts.

  
“I’m gonna do something slightly illegal, so you might want to look the other way for just a second.”

  
Al gasped. “Huh? You want me to be an accomplice?!”

  
“What, you won’t?”

  
He sighed, crossing his arms. “You’re gonna do it even if I say no, aren’t you?”

  
Ed shrugged, clapping his hands together. “Aagh, if we don’t get caught… we won’t get caught.” Light shined from the pile of culm and what looked suspiciously like gold began to emerge from the dirt.

  
Alphonse put his face into his palm. “Aw man, aren’t you supposed to set an example for me?” Deliylah tipped her head, incredibly confused, and Al could see it. “Edwards making gold out of the culm there. I dunno what he expects to do with it.”

  
Ed hopped down from the cart, mounds of gold where dirt used to be. “Well you see dear brother of mine, I have a plan.”

  
“Is it like the plan in Lior where you tricked Father Cornello?”

  
“Sort of, yeah. I’m gonna trick him into selling the mines to me.”

  
“Wait, is that what all this gold is for?”

  
“Yeah, but it’s illegal to make gold, so he’s not keeping it.”

  
“What, you’re gonna sell him out to authorities?”

  
“No, no, that’d get me in trouble, too. I’m gonna convince him to ‘sell’ me the coal mines with this gold, then when he’s not looking I’m gonna change it back to rock. By the time he finds out I’d have given the coal mines to the town and Yoki is out of business.”

  
Deliylah clasped her hands together. “Edward, that’s brilliant!”

  
He laughed. “Ah, if it works it will be. Come on, we have to get this gold to Yoki’s estate.”

 

When every bar of Ed’s fake gold had been piled into a large, brilliant room, Yoki and his subordinates were having to pick their jaws up from the floor. Ed, Al, and Deliylah stood in front of the pile. The plan had been set in motion.

  
“Now, I’d like you to sell me the rights to the coal mines,” Ed stated. The subordinates made their way around and gawked at the gold. Yoki was speechless. “Is it not enough?”

  
Yoki stammered, shaking his hands wildly. “P-Please don’t be absurd! With this much gold, I can say goodbye to this miserable post,” he whispered to himself. He seemed to be overjoyed. “Oh, and… um, if you wouldn’t mind…?”

  
“Oh yes,” Ed grinned, “I’ll make sure to put in a few good words to my superiors!”

  
“Oh, thank you, my dear alchemist!” Yoki was almost crying with joy. Deliylah was having a hard time hold back a chuckle at how utterly stupid and gullible this man was. She usually didn’t like thinking such things, but under the circumstances she gave herself a bit of leeway.

  
“But making gold is illegal, so in order not to get caught, I’d appreciate it if you could write a document saying that the mines were handed over ‘free of charge?’”

  
“Oh, I wouldn’t mind at all! Well then, let’s do the paperwork right away! I must say, good sir, you really are a sly one, Mr. Alchemist sir~”

  
Ed chuckled. “No, no, nothing compared to you, my dear Lieutenant~”

  
Al sighed. “He’s enjoying this way too much,” he whispered to Deliylah.

  
They exited the building brimming with satisfaction. The plan had worked. “We need to get to Hallings house before Yoki notices.” They power-walked down the road all the way into town, where they burst into the house. Most of the coal miners were gathered in Mr. Hallings living room, and each face turned sour where they saw Edward.

  
“Hi everybody! You’re looking cheerful today~!” Ed greeted their angry looks.

  
Khayal scoffed. “What’re you doing here,” he practically snarled at Ed.

  
“Hey, hey, should you be talking to the new proprietor of this joint like that~?”

  
“What are you-“ before the elderly miner sitting next to Khayal could finish his sentence, Edward shoved the documents in his face. “What is this?”

  
“Ownership papers. They confer on the holder the rights to mining, sales, distribution, and all subsidiary businesses in this town.” His smirk was getting wider and wider. He couldn't wait to get to the end game.

  
The miner gingerly took the documents from Ed’s hands, looking them over. “How did you get… HEY! This says it’s been signed over to Edward Elric!”

  
Both Khayal and Mr. Halling cried out in disbelief. Murmurs went through the room like how they had in the inn. Ed grinned wildly.

  
“Yep! From this moment on, this coal mine belongs to me!”

  
“No way!” the whole room yelled.

  
“Believe it~” Ed said, shrugging. “But, we’re just three vagabonds moving from place to place.”

  
Deliylah nodded, just as Edward had told her to. “We don’t really need the mines, in fact they’re more of a burden than not.”

  
Al agreed with her just according to script. “These documents will only be in the way, so…”

  
Mr. Halling got the idea. “You want to sell it to us? How much?” he asked, unsure of the deal.

  
A sly grin ran across Edwards face. It was like deja vu. “What, afraid you can’t afford it?” he quoted the chief. “If you want something, you have to pay the price. After all, this deed is printed on high quality goatskin parchment, stamped with a gold seal. Not only that, but in a spectacular feat of craftsmanship, the deposit box is inlaid with powered jade. This is the work of a true artist, and hey! The key is made of real silver!” When he finally finished blathering, he laid the documents in front of the chief. “Well, this is just a layman's opinion, but taking all this into account…” he chuckled before continuing, “How about the price of one nights stay and two meals for three at your place? Would that be fair, chief?”

  
Silence lingered in the house, then Mr. Halling burst out laughing for the first time since the night before. “Ha ha ha! You’re right! That is expensive!” He slammed his fist down on the table next to the documents, causing them to flutter. “I’ll buy it!” His eyebrows were furrowed, but not in anger. Fire was in his eyes, and the frowns of the surrounding miners were turning to smiles of realization and joy.

  
At the moment, the door burst open, and a very distressed looking Yoki threw himself inside, his subordinates in tow. “Mr. Alchemist, what is the meaning of this?!?!” he screeched. In his palm sat a handful of rock.

  
“Well, well, Lieutenant, I just sold the deed to the mine to the chief here.” Ed’s cocky reply caused Yoki to nearly howl in astonishment.

  
“No, but that’s not what I’m here for! The gold bars you gave me have all turned to rock! Can you please explain that?!”

  
Deliylah heard Al lean over and whisper into Ed’s ear. “When did you change it back?”

  
“Just before I left,” he said, letting out a content whistle. “I don’t know anything about any ‘gold bars.’”

  
“Please don’t act dumb! We exchanged a pile of gold for the ownership documents! This is fraud!”

  
Ed laughed, holding up the documents that Mr. Halling had just finished reading over. “Huh? The deed was given to me free of charge! See, you signed it! It says so right here!”

  
Yoki was trembling in anger. “The deal is null and void! You two,” he motioned towards his subordinates, “Takes those documents from them! Now!”

  
But they didn’t have a chance. Many of the miners had stood up and were putting themselves between Edward and Yoki. Deliylah hadn't really noticed before, but each and every single one of them was huge. They loomed over the three, cracking their knuckles and grins all around. By the time they settled down, the subordinates were practically pulp.

  
Ed decided to make one more point. “Oh, Lieutenant?” Yoki yelped. “I’ll make sure to tell the higher-ups about your corruption and incompetence, so please look forward to it.” He smiled sweetly.

  
Yoki slumped to the floor, his jaw at his knees.

  
The miners, on the other hand, bumped fists and patted shoulders, whooping with satisfaction. “Alright, we did it! Bring out the booze!” The crowded around Ed, Al, and Deliylah, thank-you’s being spoken all over the place. By the time the party was over, each and every miner was drunk and Edward was on the floor in a food coma, his head in Deliylah’s lap.

  
“Aaaah, I can’t eat another bite...” He mumbled contently.

  
Al fumed. “You’re sleeping with your stomach out again! Sheesh, you’re so sloppy.”

  
Deliylah giggled, then looked down at the blonde boy snoring in front of her with a sigh. “You really are better than most state alchemists…” she whispered.


	5. A Bumpy Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The train ride back to Central was supposed to be a pleasant ride, but hijackers have other plans

Lots of things made Deliylah twitchy. Military uniforms were one. Alchemy was usually another. State alchemists were a double whammy. And guns were one of the worst. So, of course, on their way to Central, most of the ride was spent with a gun in her face.

  
The hijacking had happened so fast nobody had any time to react. Thankfully nobody in their cabin had gotten injured, but nobody liked two men wielding a shotgun and a pistol on their train. Edward, of course, was snoring away in her lap, unaware of the dangers. And unfortunately, one of the hijackers had noticed.

  
“How can this brat sleep through all of this?” he muttered, poking Ed with the barrel.

  
“Sir, I really suggest you don’t do that…” Deliylah warned him softly. “He’s a very heavy sleeper, and he has a really bad temper…”

  
“Shut up, woman,” he barked back, poking Ed again. Deliylah flinched and turned away. “Tch, wake up!” Ed continued to snore. “Why you… act more like a hostage, you little runt!”

  
That had done it. Deliylah gasped, Ed’s boot stomping hard on the floor of the cabin. “I warned you sir… you really, shouldn’t have done that…” A sort of aura emanated from Ed that made Deliylah slowly press herself against the wall.

  
The hijacker, on the other hand, seemed to not notice. “What? You got a problem or something?”

  
Ed clapped his hands together on the barrel of the shotgun, and after a bright light it wasn’t a shotgun anymore. At least not a working one. The barrel had become twisted to resemble something more like the end of a french horn than a gun. Then with the slam of a boot the hijacker was face down on the floor. Al put his hand to his face, sighing. Suddenly, Deliylah heard the click of a gun, and the barrel against Ed’s head.

  
“That was stupid, kid. We were ordered to kill all passengers.” Deliylah could feel a short reference coming on. She also had no desire to warn the man about the mistake he was about to make. It was obvious they weren’t going to listen to her. Of course, by the time Al could get his brother to stop wailing on the poor man, teeth were missing and his face was bloody. Ed demanded an explain, and after the man had described his organization and where the rest of the hijackers were, Ed decided to play hero.

  
“I’ll go above, Al, you take them from below, alright?”

  
“Fine, fine.” Al was obviously exasperated by his brothers violent actions, but turned to the door.

  
“Deliylah, you come with me. Do you know how to train walk?”

  
She shrugged. “Uh, I suppose it can’t be too hard…” She felt a twinge of irritation; she had once overheard one of the more racist townspeople accuse Ishvalans of being ‘thieving gypsies who freeloaded and stole from the hardworking.’ Deliylah had never stolen a thing in her life, and had felt incredibly offended hearing such a nasty thing about her own people. She pushed the feeling away, of course, because she knew that Edward was, at least hopefully, nothing like that.

  
“It may be more difficult than you think. Just follow my lead.”

  
“O-Okay…”

  
“Wait,” one of the passengers called out to them. “Who exactly are you guys?”

  
Ed grinned, half out the window. “We’re alchemists!” The he put the rest of his body out the window and was nearly blown away, yelling something about wind pressure. Deliylah swallowed nervously; train walking was indeed dangerous.

  
By the time both Deliylah and Edward had managed to get out of the train and onto the roof, Deliylah had stopped trying to keep her hair in her face. Edward tried his best not to look, but he couldn’t help it, the patchy brown-to-white pattern on her face was fascinating to say the least.

  
“Is there something wrong, Ed?” He grew hot in the face when he realized he had been staring for far too long.

  
“N-no, sorry, I didn’t mean to stare, I just…”

  
She sighed. “It’s ok, I don’t mind, you’re not like some of the people from Lior.” She and Ed began carefully stepping their way towards the front of the train.

  
“The people of Lior?”

  
She nodded. “A lot of people I know are either Ishvalan, racist, or really, really good people. Most of the people in Lior fit into the second category. You, Al, the shopkeeper, and Rose fit into the third. People who fit into the first are pretty much all dead. At least the ones I knew…” She trailed off, and Edward saw an opportunity to change the subject.

  
“So… how are we gonna get the hostages?”

  
“I’m not sure, I don’t even know where they are-” She cut off when she heard what sounded suspiciously like a gun cocking from right below her. “EDWARD, MOVE!”

  
Bullets flew all around her as she leapt forward and snatched Eds arm, pulling him forward. Both tumbled into the footwell in front of the cabin. Edward hissed, slipping his boot off. A bullet had lodged its way into his automail foot. He then gasped, pulling himself forward. “Deliylah, you’re bleeding!”

  
“Huh?” She inspected herself and found that a bullet had grazed her leg. It was bleeding lightly, and the skirt was torn. Luckily it didn’t hurt too much. “I’ll be fine. We need to take care of the engine room before anything.”

  
He nodded, taking one more glance at Deliylah’s thigh. “Let’s get back on top of the car, I have a plan.”

  
Both waited by the windows, Deliylah on the left and Edward on the right. When he gave the thumbs up, she balanced herself by the entrance, waiting to dash in. After several thumps and yelps, she tipped in just in time to see the train drivers pounding on a hijacker with their shovels. Deciding they didn’t need her help, she lifted herself back into the coal pile.

  
“Anything else I can do?”

  
“Just drive safely, please!” Ed’s blond hair peeked from the other side. At that moment, the hatch to the first class car creaked open, and yet another gun-wielding man hauled himself up.

  
“There you are, you rodents!”

  
BANG.

  
Deliylah laid herself as flat as she could on the coal pile, trying to get herself out of the way, Ed seemed to have gone over the edge. He hauled himself back in and clapped his hands.

Deliylah didn’t see what happened next due to coal dust and transmutation light, but she knew it was loud. When the dust had settled, a large cannon had been formed from the coal, of which the train driver was not happy about.

  
“Hey! What are you doing to the tender car? It’s got the coal and water for the whole train!” He scolded.

  
Ed apologized, then his face lit up with an idea. “Deliylah, how good are you and getting in those windows?”

  
“The car windows? I guess I can do it, why?”

  
“We need to find out which room the hostages are in. I’m gonna give the hijackers one chance to give up, then if they refuse I’ll flood the car with water and flush them out. When I do that, you need to go in and close the door, otherwise the hostages will get a piece of it too,” he explained.

  
Deliylah nodded. “Alright, I can do that.” While Edward set up to speak to the hijackers, Deliylah quickly peaked in the windows of the car. Finally she saw a family that had to be the hostages. The man, most likely the General, was bleeding heavily from the ear, part of which was missing. “There we are…” She quietly and slowly slid down to the side of the window, just out of sight, her nails poised under the window, ready to open it.

  
“Hello, hello, calling all hijackers. We have recaptured the engine room and the rear cars. This car is the only one left. Please lay down your arms and let the hostages go. If not, we will have no choice but to use force.”

  
She faintly heard one of the hijackers, what she assumed to be the leader, yell back a retort. “What a joke! I don’t know who you are, but as long as we have the hostages, we’ll never give up!”

  
“Oh, my, you’re still going to resist? Too bad. Talks over. Bye.” Another transmutation caused the hijackers to gasp. “All passengers, please take cover.” That was her cue. She dug the window open and threw herself inside, quickly slamming the car door shut and pressing into it with all her might.

  
“Run for your-!”

  
WOOSH.

  
Water surged against the door, the sound rushing in Deliylah’s ears. Above the chaos she heard children crying and the hijackers screaming. She buried her face into her shoulder, digging her nails into the door.

  
Finally the rushing water died down, and Deliylah relaxed a bit. Running her fingers through her hair and fixing it back over her face, she turned to the four hostages in front of her. “Are you alright?”  
The bleeding general nodded. “Y-Yes, but… who are you?”

  
“Just a friend of the Fullmetal Alchemist, that’s all.” Suddenly she fell forward, the door being thrown open behind her. In the doorway was a very large, very wet, and very angry man. She swore under her breath.

  
A splash in the hallway caught the man’s attention. His cloak flew back to reveal an automail arm that looked like a giant gun, although in Deliylah’s opinion Edwards arm was much better.  
The man had to take several seconds to see who had just entered the hall. “Y-You’re just a little brat!” Edward must have come down from the hatch. He brought his arm back, getting ready to fire, but Edward was faster. He drove the sharp sword-like weapon he transmuter onto his own arm through the cheaper metal, while Alphonse came up behind the hijacked and bludgeoned him with his fist, knocking him out cold.

  
“Are the other hijackers taken care of?”

  
“Mhm, don’t worry,” Al responded, turning to Deliylah. “Are the hostages ok?”

  
“I think so, but one of them is bleeding, part of his ear looked like it was missing.” She looked back into the car, where the General was hugging his children and wife.

  
“They’ll be fine,” Edward reassured her. “Nice work, by the way. I wouldn’t of thought of you as somebody who could move like that.”

  
Eds statement took Deliylah by surprise. “Why not?”

  
“You cleaned altars and worked for a church, not really the most athletic job. And I’m not racist.” He turned and began tying up the hijackers. Deliylah stood in awe, not quite used to strangers not treating her like ‘just another dirty Ishvalan criminal.’

  
Their arrival in Central was greeted with cheers and lots of soldiers giving orders to take care of the hijackers tied up in the first class car. The platform smelled heavily of oil and people and trains. The General was treated by a first aid on the scene, and his family was cared for by several nice-looking soldiers. As nice as they all looked, Deliylah still felt very on edge being in the center of one of the most militaristic cities in Amestris.

  
“Hey, Fullmetal.” A greeting caught Deliylah’s attention, although she was more intrigued by Edwards sudden sour expression more than the man who said hello. “What’s with the unhappy face?”

  
“Shit, if I had know it was in your jurisdiction, I wouldn’t have helped!”

  
“Ed, you don’t mean that!” Deliylah scolded.

  
The man laughed. He looked awfully familiar. “It’s alright, young lady, he doesn’t like me very much, but he’s stuck with me anyway. I am his superior officer, after all.” Deliylah was sure that she knew him, but she couldn’t place it. A part of her almost didn’t want to. The man’s attention was pulled back to Edward. “Huh? I guess you’re still not back to normal?”  
Ed shook his head. “I’m researching the ancient texts, but nothing yet. We’ve been searching East city, but still…”

  
“I’ve heard the rumors. It seems like you’re causing quite a commotion.”

  
Ed scoffed angrily. “I guess you’re still as nosey as ever.”

  
The man shrugged. “Frankly, it’s hard not to hear about you. So…,” he turned back to Deliylah. “Who exactly is this young lady? I’ve never seen her before… I don’t think…”

  
Ed put his hand on her shoulder. “We met her in Lior, and she decided to come along and help us. She also assisted us with this big mess here. So far she’s proved herself to be a valuable ally.”

  
Deliylah blushed, unable to hold back a bashful smile. “Aw, thanks...”

  
The man chuckled. “And what would this beautiful young woman’s name be, by any chance?” He asked, reaching out his hand, which she took.

  
“Deliylah, sir. Deliylah Hayes.”

  
Recognition sparked in his eyes, but before he could say anything, the group’s attention was diverted by the sound of screams. The leader that they had taken down earlier had cut through his bindings with a concealed knife stuck in the remains of what was left of his automail. The men who had been guarding him were on the ground, the source of the sounds. The lead hijacker was livid, baring his teeth with veins pulsing in his forehead and sweat dripping from his chin. He flung himself towards the man standing next to Deliylah.

  
“Please stand back Colonel,” a woman who was escorting him tried to warn him, pulling out a gun, but the Colonel held his hand out.

  
“I’ll handle this.” He slipped a glove with an odd transmutation circle, holding up his hand and snapping his fingers. Her memory clicked when a large explosion rang out, fire sending the screaming man flying to the ground.

  
His name was Mustang. His rank had gone up since she had first met him, but she could easily remember his flames from a distance. He may not have been the state alchemist who picked her off the battlefield, but she remembered nearly everyone she met in the barracks.

  
When the hijacker was taken care of once again, Mustang turned back to Ed. “Well, let’s get back to my office and you can brief me on your mission so far.”

  
Ed groaned. “Do I have to?”

  
Al laughed. “Don’t be spoiled, brother.”

  
Deliylah chuckled half-heartedly, hoping to Ishvala that Mustang wouldn’t recognize her, although something told her that he already did.


	6. Shoddy Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and knowledge are at their fingertips, but not everything is as it seems. As quickly as joy springs before you, it can slip away in an instant. And some alchemists are better than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So remember when I said every week? Lmao  
> In other news, I've graduated college, and currently on the hunt for a job and an apartment! Wish me luck!  
> ps can you tell I'm running out of ideas for summaries

Deliylah found car rides to be very much like train rides, except slower so she could see the scenery. She was amazed by how green everything was. In Ishval everything was warm and dusty and almost none of the houses went above two stories tall, but Central was filled with huge buildings that reached into the sky, and everything was colorful.

Although she had understood little of what the brothers and Mustang had talked about, she did know that they were going to visit a state alchemist, a specialist in chimera research named Shou Tucker. She knew she wasn’t going to be actively engaged in the conversation, but she hoped to learn at least a little bit.

“Excuse me, Miss Deliylah?” Mustang’s voice caught her attention, causing her to jump and pull her eyes from the rows of apartments and hotels that were beginning to thin out into individual estates and houses.

“Y-yes?” She answered. She was still quite wary around him, and would have prefered not to talk to him. But, nonetheless, she was polite, and if he needed to ask her something she would listen. Which he did.

“Are you sure we haven’t met before?”

“I don’t think so, sir…” she replied a little too quick, turning back to the green lawns and painted houses, hopefully getting her point across that she didn’t want him to know that he did indeed know who she was.

The car pulled up to the gate of an enormous mansion. Ed, Al, Mustang, and Deliylah exited the vehicle and began making their way to the house, which seemed to get bigger with every step they took toward it.

Deliylah’s ears perked and the hair on the back of her neck stood up; something was moving behind her. She turned around and promptly leapt out of the way of an enormous white dog that planted itself onto Edward with a howl, flattening him.

“Alexander, no, don’t do that,” an adorable voice playfully scolded the dog. Deliylah turned around to see a very young child wearing two braids and a loose pair of overalls holding the door open. A man she recognized from the photo in the file to be Mr. Tucker appeared behind her, looking mildly distressed.

“Nina, this is why I told you to keep the dog tied up…”  he sighed, pulling the door open all the way. “Alexander, come here.” Alexander, apparently the dogs name, hauled himself off of Edward, who groaned in pain as he slowly sat up. “I’m so sorry about that, come on in. Nina, please go tie up the dog…”

“Awww, okay daddy. Alexander, come on!” The girl raced into the yard, having no intention of tying the dog up.

Mr. Tucker led the four into a very dirty living room, clearing a space for them to sit and discuss. “Can I offer you some tea? I’m afraid the place is a mess, so finding a clean cup around here may be difficult…”

Deliylah piped up shyly. “If you don’t mind, I could make the tea. I’m not an alchemist, I won’t really be of any use to the conversation.”

“Why, thank you, young lady! I usually keep the tea over in that cupboard near the sink, the cups should be there too.” He pointed toward a sink overflowing with dishes caked with grime.

When she finally found enough clean mugs and space and finished four cups of tea, one for everybody with a mouth, Edward was explaining how he got his automail and why he needed to see Tuckers research.

“I see… so you lost your mother…” He remarked, gazing at Edward’s automail arm.   
Colonel Mustang nodded. “I’ve told my superiors that he lost his limbs in the civil war in the East. I must ask you to please keep quiet about this attempts at human transmutation.”

Tucker nodded standing up. “Sure, no problem. I’m sure the military couldn’t afford to lose such a brilliant individual.” He reached forward, taking their now empty teacups and dropping them into the already full sink. “Well then, I’m not sure if it’ll be any help to you, but let me show you my laboratory. Right this way please.”

The word “laboratory” made Deliylah feel a little anxious, but she followed Edward down a dark hallway into a dimly lit room filled with the sounds and smells of animals. Edward looked around, wide-eyed and in awe. Jars on shelves were filled with specimens, and misshapen animals sat in corners in cages.

“It’s a bit embarrassing, really. I’m supposed to be the authority on chimeras, but in reality it’s never easy. Lot’s of failures and false starts… ah, miss! I’d advise you not to touch that one, she’s pois-” he stopped mid sentence. Deliylah had crouched by a cage and slowly stuck her hand inside. The chimera held within, which had snarled when Colonel Mustang passed by, was giving off what sounded vaguely like a purr, rubbing it’s scaled head against Deliylah’s fingers.

“Oh, I’m sorry, she just looked like she wanted some attention…”

“How? I’ve never been able to touch her…”

She rubbed her neck with one hand. “I-I’ve always been good with animals, I suppose…”

Tucker gave a breathy chuckle. “Well, that certainly is unique~” He tossed a handful of pet food to the chimera and stood up, straightening his shirt. “Well if you’ll follow me again, I’ll show you my file room,” he said, bringing them down another hallway.

“WOW!” Edward cried out in amazement. They had entered what looked light an enormous library practically overflowing with books and research materials. Edward looked like a child had just entered a candy store and was told he could pick anything he wanted off the shelves. “This is incredible!” he remarked, gaping at the tall shelves.

Tucker laughed. “Feel free to look around. I’ll be in the lab.”

Deliylah gently tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, I don’t mean to be rude, but I noticed that your kitchen needs a bit of cleaning. As I said before, I’m not much of an alchemist, but if you’d like I can help you clean up a bit.”

A large smile ran across his face. “Why, thank you very much!”

The kitchen wasn’t that easy to clean, but Mr. Tucker was willing to help as much as he could, and with a little team effort and a bit of frustration Deliylah was able to clear out all the dishes and dust off all the shelves. After the last plate was placed in the cabinet, she decided, since a few hours had gone by, she’d check in on Edward and bring him a cup of tea.

Edward was still in the library, and a large pile of books had accumulated around him. He looked up from his extensive reading only when Deliylah leaned over and held out a saucer with a cup of tea on it. 

“Oh, thanks Deliylah!” At that moment the bell tolled, signaling the turn of the hour. “Oh, I didn’t realize the time!” He stood up, stretching his limbs that were cramped from hours of reading. “Al! Hey, Alphonse! Where are you?” He called out to his brother. Delilyah could faintly hear the movement of his metal joints from the other side of the library, and a high pitched giggle from the same place.

“I think he’s this way…” Before they found Alphonse, however, something else found them first. Her ears perked and the hair at the back of her neck stood up again, and on instinct she moved quickly out of the way just in time for a large white dog to once again land directly on Edward.

“Oh, hey big brother!” Alphonse’s childish voice made Delilyah look up. A soft giggle made her look higher. Nina was perched on his shoulders, and apparently they had been playing for several minutes.

“What do you mean ‘Hey, big brother?!’ You’re supposed to be looking through data, not babysitting!” Ed shouted, pulling himself out from under the dog, who immediately licked his face with a long, slobbery tongue.

Nina, still on Al’s shoulders, giggled loudly. “Alexander says that he wants to play, too!”

Edward flew into a playful rage, chasing the dog all around the library, forgetting that he was supposed to be reading, too. By the end of the day the dog had once again flung himself on top of Edward.

The door opened and Tucker, followed by a young soldier smoking a cigarette who she recognized as one of Mustang’s men, walked in. The smoking soldier raised an eyebrow, surveying the scene of Edward struggling to lift a large white dog off him. Deliylah coughed as quietly as she could. She hated the smell of cigarettes.

“Mind if I ask what you’re doing?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Well,” Ed groaned, “Lets just say I’m taking a break from a long day a research.”

“After all that you must be…” Deliylah took in a sharp breath. Mr. Tucker was about to make a pun. “ _ Dog tired _ .” Edward cringed, grinning. Deliylah snorted, clasping her mouth with her gloved hands.

Edward pulled himself to his feet, swaying. Deliylah gently put a hand on his shoulder to steady him, and he patted her on the back gratefully. The soldier turned back to say something to Tucker, then escorted them to the car. Deliylah sank into the seat, softly smiling to herself. Today was a good day.

The next day was pretty similar, but Alexander instead plopped down in the library and Nina sat down next to her dog and the four of them talked a bit. She told them about how her mother had left them and apparently gone to live with her parents, about how her father had always been working since then after he got his state license and about how she was a  _ little _ bit lonely.

Edward snapped his book shut, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. “Ah, man, all this reading is making my shoulders cramp up.”

“Exercise is the best cure for shoulder cramps, big brother.”

“You’re right, I guess I’ll go work out a little on the yard.” He turned around and pointed a finger at Alexander. “Hey, dog! I’ll play with you for exercise!”

Al turned to the girls still on the floor. “Deliylah, Nina, you should come too!” Nina giggled and Deliylah nodded, pulling herself up and straightening out her skirt.

The rest of the day was spent laughing while Edward struggled to not become a pancake under Alexander, who usually won the rounds. Deliylah pushed Alexander off of Edward, using her back strength to lift the dog. She glanced up and could have sworn she saw Mr. Tucker glaring out his window with a pained face.

A tiny hand pressed firmly onto her side. “Tag, you’re it!” Nina had tagged her and was now running as fast as her little legs would take her. Both Alphonse and Edward were running from her as well. It seemed that everybody was playing. She grinned and hiked up her skirt.

By the end of the evening, Deliylah, Edward, and Nina collapsed on the cool grass with Al looking over them, exhausted and still laughing their lungs out. That’s how the rest of the week was, at least for Deliylah. She would make tea, then Edward would finish his day’s reading and invite Nina, Alphonse, and herself outside for some exercise and fun. However, the joy didn’t last.

Alphonse knocked on the door, announcing their arrival. Deliylah shivered; she could smell rain in the air and feel a sharp chill. Something wasn’t right. There wasn’t an answer, and the three let themselves in the unlocked door, calling out to Mr. Tucker and Nina.

The whole house was dark. The now clean kitchen and the dining room were empty. “Ed, I think I can hear something… in the lab…” she whispered, pointing the brothers in the directing of soft whispering she could hear from behind the closed door.

The door opened with a creak, causing Deliylah to shiver again, this time not from the cold. In the room she could barely see Mr. Tucker leaning over something alive; a new chimera, one she had never seen before. She had a very bad feeling about this whole situation. It all felt very wrong.

Mr. Tucker invited them inside. Something told her to hang back, to not go in, but she ignored it and followed Edward and Alphonse, leaving the door just barely open so that a sliver of light was all that illuminated the room.

“Look, it’s my newest creation,” Tucker beckoned the brothers to get a bit closer. “It’s a chimera that understands human speech!” Deliylah flinched. She couldn’t tell where from, but she could have sworn she recognized the chimera from somewhere. She stayed by the doorway, unable to bring herself to go farther into the room.

Edward, however, marveled at the new chimera, absolutely amazed by Tucker’s skill. ”Wow, it talks! It really talks!”

Deliylah faintly heard it whispering hoarsely. “Ed… ward… Ed… ward… Ed… ward...” A large grin spread over its face. “Big… bruh… ther… Ed?” Deliylah’s blood ran cold, and she heard Edward draw in a sharp breath. They realized it at the same time.

“Mr. Tucker… when was it you got your license? By making the first chimera that spoke human words?”

“Uhh… that was two years ago.”

“And when did your wife leave?”

“... that was two years ago, too.”

“Can I ask you one more question?” Deliylah saw Ed grit his teeth. She almost didn’t want him to ask. But she had to know, so she stayed silent. “What happened to Nina and Alexander?”

Tucker sighed, the look in his eyes changing to that of almost a madman. One she recognized. “I hate perceptive brats like you.”

Edward jumped forward, slamming Tucker into the wall with one fist, screaming at him. Eventually, after enough taunting, the screaming turned to punching. 

Deliylah flinched with each hit. Finally she had enough. “Alphonse, do something!” She cried out over the sound of Edward screeching and hitting Tucker over and over. But Al was already in motion. He reached forward, easily stopping Edward with one hand.

“Edward, stop it right now. Any more and you’ll kill him.” He pulled Ed away to where Deliylah could put her hands gently on his shoulders and guide him to the door.

Behind her she heard Tucker mutter, “Heh, pretty words don’t get anything done.”

Al stopped and sighed. “Mr. Tucker… if you say one more word, this time I’ll be the one to snap.” Deliylah swallowed nervously. She knew Al to be the gentle and kind giant, hardly ever raising a hand to anyone before talking it through. She had never heard such hate in his voice before.

She looked down at Nina, now a horribly made chimera. ‘What shoddy work,’ she thought to herself, choking back tears.


End file.
